Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Bilingual Edition)
Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the elegiac narrative of the adventures of Beowulf, a Scandinavian hero who saves the Danes from the seemingly invincible monster Grendel and, later, from Grendel's mother. He then returns to his own country and dies in old age in a vivid fight against a dragon. The poem is about encounter...show more
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Community Reviews
Really enjoyed this. Learning about the heroic society of the early middle ages via a narrative rather than a textbook was a welcome change of pace. It's full of over the top, almost nonsensical action but I loved it. The incessant Christian messages were irritating, but the clash of Christianity and the original pagan culture of the story made for an interesting comparison of values. Heaney's sly nods to Irish politics were very clever.
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